Day-trip, mid-June 2001

by Carol Foil

I had a business trip in Rio de Janeiro last week and was able to schedule one day of guided birding.  For those who may find themselves in a similar situation at the same time of year, I will here file a brief report.  At the advice of Miguel Castelino of Trogon Tours, I hired Ricardo Parrini (rparrini@hotmailcom) as a guide.  It was great advice and I highly recommend Ricardo to anyone needing a guide for Brazil, if you can find him not already booked.

For the day, we headed to the Tijuca National Park and Forest, which is located in the suburbs of Rio.  It is an old secondary and planted forest in hilly country that rises to about 800 meters.  There are several well-groomed trails for hiking.  We stopped at Mayrink, took the main trail (an old road) Estrada mirante Excelsior, and alsoa trail behind Restaurante Dois Esquilos.  Here is the list of birds that Ricardo got up for us.  Use of taped playbacks was almost essential for some of these, and a trained ear essential for many of them.

Black Vulture
Yellow-headed Caracara
Gray-necked Wood-rail
Plumbeous Pigeon (heard only)
Crimson-bellied Parakeet
Plain Parakeet
Scaly-headed Parrot
Tawny-browed Owl (heard only)
Black Jacobin
Violet-capped Woodnymph
Channel-billed Toucan
White-barred Piculet
Yellow-eared Woodpecker
Olivaceous Woodcreeper
Lesser Woodcreeper
Black-capped Foliage-gleaner
White-eyed Foliage-gleaner
Rufous-breasted Leaftosser
Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper
Eastern Slaty Antshrike
Plain Antvireo
Star-throated Antwrern
Rufous-winged Antwren
Scaled Antbird
Streak-capped Antwren
Black-cheeked Gnateater (heard only)
Bellbird (heard only)
Sharpbill
Blue Mankin
Pin-tailed Mankin (heard only)
Sepia-capped Flycatcher
Eye-ringed Tody-Tyrant
Yellow-lored Tody Flycatcher
Yellow-olive Flycatcher
White-throated Spadebill
Social Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Rufous-browed Pepper-shrike (heard only)
Yellow-legged Thrush
Rufous-bellied Thrush
White-necked Thrush
House Wren
Golden-crowned Warbler
Bananaquit
Rufous-headed Tanager
Flame-crested Tanager
Ruby-crowned Tanager
Black-goggled Tanager
Red-crowned Ant-Tanager
Golden-chevroned Tanager
Palm Tanager
Orange-bellied Euphonia
Chestnut-bellied Euphonia
Green-headed Tanager
Yellow-backed Tanager
Red-necked Tanager
Blue Dacnis
Buff-throated Saltator

At other locations around Rio I also saw, Mag Frigatebirds, Brown Boobies, Neotropic Cormorants, Kelp Gulls, Royal, Common and South American Terns, Ruddy Ground-Doves, Ringed Kingfisher, Gray-breasted Martin, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Sayaca Tanager, Golden-winged Cacique, Cattle Tyranrt, and Masked Water-Tyrant.

Good birding, all,

Carol Foil
Baton Rouge, LA
lcfoil@attglobal.net